Bollywood’s Shah Rukh Khan plays dwarf looking for love in Zero, and looking for a cinema hit
- Actor steps out of his comfort zone to play 90cm character wooing Anushka Sharma’s wheelchair-bound scientist and Katrina Kaif’s actress with a drink problem
- After a bad run for Khan, 53, some are asking whether he can make the transition from the romantic lead roles that made him a star
Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film opens this week with the acclaimed actor, who plays a dwarf, seeking a hit after an underwhelming run at the box office.
Zero, hitting cinemas in India and a few other countries on Friday, sees the Hindi movie icon, miniaturised with special effects, caught up in a love triangle alongside a wheelchair-bound Anushka Sharma.
Director Aanand Rai believes he brought the larger-than-life actor, nicknamed “King Khan”, out of his comfort zone to play a character 90cm (3 feet) tall.
“This kind of story about a man’s journey and his love story needed someone like him. By casting him, we challenged Mr. Khan to show us what he could do,” Rai says.
Zero – which is heavy on special effects – sees Sharma play a Nasa scientist with cerebral palsy and Katrina Kaif portray a Bollywood actress with a drink problem.